Shadow Of The Tomb Raider Cost Around $100 Million To Make, Says Eidos

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Shadow Of The Tomb Raider Cost Around $100 Million To Make, Says Eidos

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The price is high for quality, and nowhere is this truer now than the Shadow of the Tomb Raider cost. Eidos says that the game cost somewhere between $75 and $100 million to make, and considering how much games cost to make these days, especially triple-A ones, that’s not really an exaggeration.

All of the development costs for a video game can very quickly add up when you think about it. In addition to all of the software and developing equipment that you already need, especially if it’s in a new engine and new computers have to be bought to run all of the software, you also need to consider the monthly pay of all of the programmers, actors, producers, artists, and more.

And the pay for those employees can also vary depending on where the studio is located, especially in places like Los Angeles, where skyrocketing real estate prices could send pay rising just as much. Licensing rights for the engines that they use, especially if it’s a widely used engine like Unreal, can also add up.

And the Shadow of the Tomb Raider cost of around $100 million isn’t even taking into consideration promotional costs, which according to Eidos head David Anfossi totals around $35 million.

With all of these costs, you can see why all of the different special editions of the game are so expensive, why games themselves cost $60, and why DLC and microtransactions are often used by companies to try and squeeze more money out of gamers. Even with games costing so much to buy, a publisher still has to split the profits between themselves and the studio, meaning it takes more games being sold just to break even on their investment.

All of these different costs, combined with the brutal work environment of game development (which includes crunch times, brutal hours, difficult conditions, and working on a strict deadline), might make one wonder how the video game industry can sustain itself, so hopefully the Shadow of the Tomb Raider cost both in money and work hours will be worth it.